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— Bwaa^iMB^BMB m n MmBu^ M 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 



OF IHE 



American Museum of Natural 
History. 



Vol. I. Part II. 



SOME PROTECTIVE DESIGNS OF THE DAKOTA. 

BY 

CLARK WISSLER. 



NEW YORK : 

Published by Order of the Trustees. 

February, 1907. 



Monoffraph 






ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 

OF THE 

American :\rrsEUM of Natural History 

Vol.. 1, I'XIM II. 

soMi: i'i{()ri:( ri\ I-; dhsigns of tuk Dakota. 

Hv ^'l.AUK Wl.S.SI.KH. 

CONTENTS. 



Inthodhction 

SHIKLI)-DF>iir,NS 

(Ihost-d.wck Dk-sions . 
TiiH Hooi' 

Tmk WiIIHI.WIM) 
TlIK TlIlNDKH 

Thk Spider 
OoNCM'sinx 



21 



31 
40 
43 
46 

48 
52 



ILLUSTI{.\ll()NS. 

Plates. 

\'. Model of :i Shield. Museum No. 50-2929. Diameter, 39 cm. 
\"I. Shield-ilesign on a Cape, Museum No. 50-3102. Width of cape, 178 cm. 
\ II. Model of a Shield, Museum No. 50-54G7. Diameter, 46 cm. 



Text Figures. 

1. Shield-cover with Design ..... 

2. ShieUl-design, from a Drawing by a Native 

3. Drawing, by a Native, of a Shield-cover . 

4. Shield-design, from a Drawing by a Native 

5. Spider-design for a Shield, from a Drawing by a Native 

6. Shield-design, from a Drawing by the Man who dreamed of it 



PAGE 

24 
25 
26 
26 

27 
28 



19 



.^"^ 



.^ 



u 



.V 



20 



Anthropological Papers American Museum oj Natural History. [Vol. I. 



v^ 



V- 



7. Shield-design representing a Thvmderstonn, from a Draw 

8. Model of a Shield with Pictographic Design 

9. Design on Sioux Shield captured by a Fox Indian 

10. Front of a Ghost-dance Garment 

11. Back of Garment shown in Fig. 10 . 

12. Designs on the Front of Ghost-dance Garment 

13. Designs on the Back of Garment shown in Fig. 12 

14. Front of a Ghost-dance (Jarment licaring Dragon-Hy Dc 
1.5. Back of Garment .shown in Fig. 14 . 

16. Circular Dei^ign upon a Shirt .... 

17. Sketch, by a Native, of an Elk-mysteiy Dancer carrying 

Mirror in the Centre ..... 

15. Engraved Metal Cross ..... 

19. Engraved Bone Object ..... 

20. Whirlwind Design, from the Handle of a Club . 

21. Whirlwind Design, from a Popgun . 

22. Whistle, of Bone 

23. Design of a Si)ider-ueb ..... 

24. Sketch of a Robe for the Medicine-bow Ownei- 

25. Design on a Metal Belt-ornament . 

26. Design of the Spider-web on a Straight I'ipc . 



ing by a Native 



sign 



a H 



)Oi) with a 



TAGK 

28 
29 
30 
32 
33 
3& 
37 
38 
39 
41 

42 
44 
45 
46 
46 
47 
49 
51 
52 
52 



HBonaanBDNaai 



INTIJODrcTloX. 

The decorative ait of the Dakota has liceii treated in a preeethiiir pajier, 
ill whieh lirief mention was made of reli<jious art, or that art in which there 
was a definite. unmistakaMe motive on the |)art of the artist to represent 
mythical or phihtsophical ideas. In this more serious art, a hirije number 
of doi^rns may he characterized as "protective (lesi«;ns," l)ecause their 
presence or possession is in |)art a protection. The idea in a protective 
desifjn .seems to h<> a symhohcal ap|>cal to the source or concrete manifes- 
tation of a protective power, it is not i-asy to ijet the point of view and 
the spirit of the f.-iith that make these desi<;ns si<;niHcant, hut from the 
detailed c\|il;inalions of tlii'm some general idea can he l'(tnned. The 
descriptions ;;iven in this pii|)er are hased upon the statements of Indians, 
in most cases the execnters of the desi^rns. The attitude of the reader 
toward such a study as thi> is often llial of conchidin;; that the points of 
view set forth i»y a writer arc universal in the tribe. This leads to a <2;reat 
deal of superficial criticism. In the opinion of the writer, any rejection 
of su<-h study ix'cause (tuc or two or ><-\» ral Iiulians dcii\' all knowledfje of 
some or ail of the s[)ecific native accounts u|)on which conclusions are 
based, is al)surd. We mi;,dit as well test the artistic .sen.se of a city by call- 
in;: iu (»ne or t\\i» per>on> from the street. As a case in point, the reader 
is referred to the remarks of ,1. ( )wen I )orscy on the authenticity of Bush- 
otter's I)onblc Woman.' .V ;;rcat deal of the information received from 
Indians relative to reli^^ion is lar^jcK iiidi\idual, an<l every etlmolofjical 
field-Worker must take the best of his material from the brio;hte.st men of 
a tribe. The object of this study has been to brin;; too;et her ideas expressed 
bv various individuals more or less eminent ainono- their peoj)le, becau.se 
all of these individual conceptions seem to have nuich in common. The 
data wer(> secun'<l bv the writer when on Museum expeditions to the Teton 
and ^ ankton divisions of the Dakota. 



' Dorsey (Eleventti Annual I{<i"iri of tlip Hnrean of Ameritun Ethnology, p. 480). 



22 Anthropological Papers American Museum oj Natural Historxj. [Vol. I, 



SHIELD-DESIGNS. 

The circular shield was distributed over a large ])art of North America. 
A conspicuous part of the arms of Mexican warriors was "the round, small 
'target' worn by the 'brave' on his left arm, and made of canes netted 
together and interwoven with cotton 'twofold/ covered on the outside with 
gilded boards and with feathers, and so strong that a hard cross-bow shot 
could alone penetrate them;"^ but "merely ornamental shields [were 
also] used and carried by warriors and chiefs on festive occasions only."^ 

According to the same author, in Pre-Columbian times some of the 
Pueblo Indians used a thick disk of bufl'alo-hide as a shield. On the 
Plains, from the Rio Grande to the Saskatchewan, the circular shield of 
buffalo-hide was, until the extinction of the buffalo, a part of the regalia 
of every warrior. These shields usually bore symbolic designs. In many 
cases the designs were painted upon the rawhide itself, and protected by 
a buckskin cover; while in other cases the designs were painted upon 
the cover. Practically no shields of buffalo-hide are to be found in the 
hands of the surviving Dakota; but in social and religious ceremonies, 
models or shield-covers of buckskin or cloth, upon which are painted the 
designs formerly placed on shields, are often used. For purposes of study 
the writer secured such models of shields, Avith explanations of the designs 
and with other shield-lore, from persons who formerly owned buffalo-hide 
shields. 

When the enemies of the Dakota were armed with native weapons, 
the shield had some value in itself, because few arrows could get through 
it, and it was of sufficient strength to ward off a blow from a club or an 
axe; but even at that time the designs and medicine objects tied to the 
shield seem to have been regarded as of greater importance than the me- 
chanical properties of the shield itself. It was the power represented by 
the design to which the owner of the shield looked for protection. Natu- 
rally, with the introduction of fire-arms, shields ceased to have a real 
protective value; but their designs were still looked upon as capable of 
affording protection against evil. According to the statements of some old 
men who still have faith in protective designs, the ancient shield mani- 
fested its power upon the mind of the enemy by influencing them to shoot 
at the shield rather than at the exposed parts of the body of its bearer. 
But when fire-arms were introduced, experience demonstrated that the 
shield was no longer a desirable object in battle, because the same influence 



1 Bandelier (Reports of the Peabody Museum, Vol. II, p. 109). 
- I^andelier, op. cit., p. 108. 



H i NHi i iiH ii HH i i i iiyyiiiiii 111)11 ii i iiim wnminHfffflffiWBffl 



\W7.] Wisslcr, Sortie Protective Designs of the Dakota. 23 

that drew arn»\v> to it drew bullets also, and in this case with fatal results. 
From this they concluded that guns represented a mystic power superior 
to that of shield-designs, hut that the latter were still efficacious, except 
where so overj)owered. 

This explanation is interesting, because these men seem to have grasped 
the idea that the shield, being a conspicuous object, would attract the 
attention and thus the aim of the enemy; but they confused this pyscho- 
logical explanation of tiie observed facts with a mystic conception that the 
magic power of the design upon the shield was the cause or force that 
reached out and lay hold of the attention of the enemy. Yet the introduc- 
tion of fire-arms did not relegate the shield to oblivion; and shield-designs 
arc still cherished by men of the olden time, because they represent a kind 
of individual totem or protective power. 

The following descriptions of shield-designs are given with the inter- 
pretations of their owners. 

A shield-cover decorated with feathers, bearing a design used by a chief 
on ceremonial occasions, and said by him to be the copy of a shield carried 
in his y(juth, is shown in IMate v. The black bonier on top of the shield 
takes the form of the new moon, which it represents. In the centre of the 
shield is a well c\c<-utc(l drawing of an Imliaii on horseback. The horse is 
in blue, with zigzag black lines extending down the legs. The blue color of 
the horse indicates his eoimection with the thunder, or the j)Owers of the sky. 
The background of the shield is in yellow, but the lower part has been 
worked over with gri-en. Symmetrically arranged around the mounted 
figure are four circles of pur])lish color, representing a phenomenon observed 
in the sky. which .seems to have been either the halo of the sun, or the phe- 
nomenon that passes under the name of "sun-dogs." From the description 
of the owner of the shield, it appears that these four ciri'les were associated 
in his mind with the medicine-hoop. He stated that this design as a whole 
was the representation of what he saw in a dream; that the moon with its 
dark color was tlrawn to represent the night, because that was the time 
when he had this experience; and that in the dream he saAv a horse and 
rider appear in the sky surrounded by the four circular objects, as indicated 
upon the shield. It appears from his explanation, that the association of 
the rings with the medicine-hoop was his own individual interpretation of 
the significance of his dream. In the dream he could see a shield associated 
with these objects as they wouUl appear in reality; but in the design he 
attempted to convey an idea of what he saw in conformity with the con- 
ventional modes of representative art |)ractised by his tribe. 

Another shield-cover (Fig. 1) bears a bird-design, representing to the 
owner the osprcy (?). One half of the background of this shield is in yel- 



24 



Anthropological Papers Ayncrican Museum of Natural History. [Vol. I, 



low; the other half, in light green. ^ These two colors represent the appear- 
ance of the sky at sunrise; the yellow corresponding to the region of the 
dawn, and the green to the dark skv above. The four stars symmetrically 
arranged are colored black for the night, yellow for the dawn, blue for the 
evening, and red for the day; or in other words the whole circle is repre- 
sented. The design of the bird ]">resents some interesting details. The 




Fig. 1 (50-2970). Shield-cover with Design. Diameter, 42 cm. 

lightning-symbols represent the death-dealing power conferred upon the 
owner of such a shield-design at the time of his dream. The red marks 
upon the breast of the bird, representing the national emblem of the United 



1 In the drawings, colors are indicated by the following devices: red, by horizontal shading; 
yellow, by vertical shading: green, by left oblique shading; blue or purple, by right oblique 
shading. Black and wliite have their conventional qualities. Tlie drawings were made by 
Miss R. B. Howe. 



.>^ 



1907.] 



Wissler, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 



25 



States, were interpreted by the owner as symbolizing such death-dealing 
power in contending with sohUers. The peculiar feature upon the tail 
of the bird represents an additional experience, and was added to the shield 
about the year 1867, after a successful engagement with the United States 
troops, in which the owner of the shield participated. According to his 
account, the design on the tail of the bird is the conventional symbol of the 
spider-web, but is used here to represent an experience preceding the above 
engagement. As the war-party were moving forward, they saw a strange 
appearance in the sky, which took the form of this symbol. The sight of 
it caused the war-party to scatter; and the interpretation })laced upon this 
by the owner was, that its manifestation of supernatural power, which was 
to be conveyed to them, would cause their enemies to scatter in like con- 
fusion. During the confu.sion into which the party fell, the stars moved 
rapidly through the sky and the lightning 
flashed in all directions. This is rej)re- 
sented by the four corners of the design. 
.\t the top of the shield is a braid of 
.sweet-grass and a small buckskin bag 
■containing medicines of a supposed 
charm-value. Before going into battle, 
.some of this sweet-grass was to l)e 
burnt, and ritualistic songs pertaining 
to the shield were to be sung. This 
having been done, the shield was sup- 
posed to protect its owner from his ene- 
mies. Eight feathers, arranged in pairs, 
are attached to the shield, and their quills 
are painted to correspond to the parts of the l)ackground to which they are 
attached. 

There is one interesting feature connected with this shield-design, and 
that is the fact that some of the old men disapproved of the owner placing 
the spider-web design uj)on the tail of the bird, because it was a mixing of 
supernatural manifestations. The incident connected with this design was 
regarded by them as most extraordinary, and as having been worthy of 
distinct and sej)arate representation. According to the accepted modes 
of interpretation, this experience should have been represented upon a new 
shield. 

The specimen shown in Plate vi is not a shield-cover, but was neverthe- 
less spoken of as a shield; and the design upon it is an old shield-design, 
'ilie specimen is a cape (made of cotton) worn around the shoulders in such 
a way that the design could be seen upon the back of the wearer. Here 




Fig. 2. 



Shield-design, from a Drawing 
by a Native. 



26 



Anthropological Papers American Museum of .Yatural Histori/. [Vol. I, 




Fig. 3. Drawing, by a Native, of a Shield-cover. 



are represented the rainbow, the thunder-bird (possessing in this case 
characteristics which indicate that it was copied from the national enibU'ni 
of the United States), the new and full moon, and the stars. It will be 

observed that the stars in this 
case are four-j)ointed, similar to 
the design of the spider-wi-b, 
and they are regarded by the 
Indians as an example of the 
old original method of repre- 
senting them. 

As a great many Indians who 
formerly owned shields do not 
now possess shield-covers, the 
writer secured drawings made 
by them of their former shields. 
Such a sketch is reproduced in 
outline (Fig. 2). In the centre 

is a design of the spider-web filled in with red. The groimd of the shield 

is in blue, representing the sky. Above and below are circular areas in 

yellow, representing clouds or heaven. Lightning-symbols in red connect 

the yellow cloud-symbols w'ith the four corners of the spider-web design. 

As a final suggestion relative to this interpretation, the informant said, 

"The spider is the friend of the thunder." 

The manner in which the owner secured the shield-design represented in 

Fig. 3 is as follows. Once when a war-party of which lie was a member 

were about to take the war-path, 

it was predicted by an old man 

that he would be killed in the 

first battle. Before leaving with 

the party, he went to an old 

medicine-man for help, and this 

man made him a shield bearing 

the design described below. The 

bird represented is the haw^k, 

— flying from the sky, protected 

by the thunder from the hail- 
stones that fly thick and fast 

about him, — and symbolizes 

the manner in which the owner of the shield will pass safely through the 

hail of lead from the enemy. Four pairs of hawk-feathers are arranged 

symmetrically on the circumference of the shield. 

In the sliield-design in Fig. 4, we find a large circular area in the centre 




Fig. 4. Shield-design, from a Drawing by a Native. 



1907] Wisslcr, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 27 

painted yellow ami the .surrounding portion red. Around the circumfer- 
ence of the yellow portion are lilack spots, representing tufts of short crow- 
feathers. Upon the original shield, across the top, there was tied the skin 
of a weasel, represented in the drawing by a pictograph of that animal. 
Four pairs of feathers are arranged symmetrically on the circumference of 
this design. 

Tlif design i-epre.sented by Fig. 5 is rather striking, since an image of the 
sj)ider is placed in the centre of the shield 
surrountled by a circle of red, through 
which the numerous red lines radiate 
to the circumference of the design. 
These red lines re])rescnt the web of 
the spider. One end of a string is 
tied to the mouth of the sj)ider, with an 
eagle-plume at the other end, painted 
yellow. .Vround the circumference of 
the design is a wavy blue line, repn- 
.senting water. The owner of this de- 
sign received such a shield wlien a 

young man. and staled that he never I"i«- J- Si.i.ler-.lesiKn for a Shield, from a 
•' "^ _ IJrawiiig by a Native. 

understood why the me«licine-man who 

made it for him ])lace<l the l>lue line around it, and for that rea.son he could 
not explain its significance. 

"^I'lie design represented in Fig. G was dreamed of by the owner himself, 
and in this dream he was presented with a shield bearing a design similar 
to the sketch. As he was almo.st blind, the sketch is very crude. In it 
appear again the thunder-bird, the stars, the yellow clouds, the red and 
blue lightning, the new moon, and the bear. It was claimed that the 
curved double line at the l)ottom represented both the mooo and the light- 
ning; the former by the colors, the latter by its form. Another interestitig 
point in this design is the representation of an eagle-feather upon the head 
of the bear. This is the conventional way of representing a supernatural 
bear as distinguished from a real bear.* The owner of this shield-design 
claimed, that, while he did not now^ and had not for years carried or kept 
about him a drawing of the design, he felt it as a kind of magic presence 
hovering around him, shielding him from harm. He stated, further, that, 
while he knew that other men used the symbols represented in his shield- 
design as the signs of particular powers and ideas, he himself had no such 
interpretation; for in the dream he saw nothing more than a shield bearing 




' For an illustration see Catlin, North Americui Indians (7th ed., 1848\ I'hite 102. 



■28 



Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. I, 



these designs, and received no instruction or information as to their signi- 
ficance. Their protecting power to liim la^' in the pecuHar supernatural 
presence which he always felt. 

The shield-design in Fig. 7 represents a thunderstorm. At the top, 
the clouds are represented in blue. Below this, falling rain is represented 
by short irregular lines, and tli(> lightning and thunder by zigzag lines ex- 



.^■ 



^^ 





Fig. 6. 

Fig. 6. Shield-design, from a Drawing by the Man who dreamed of it. 

Fig. 7. Shield-design representing a Thunderstorm, from a Drawing by a Native. 






tending downward from the clouds on a background of clear sky. This 
design originated in the same manner as did the jjreceding; that is, a 
finished shield was seen in a dream. 

Plate VII is the reproduction of a model of a shield luade of shrunken 
bull-hide covered Avith buckskin. It was collected by Dr. J. R. Walker. The 
design is somewhat similar to the preceding. The u})per part is painted 
in blue to represent the clouds, and the lower part in bluish-green to rep- 
resent the sky. In the cloud-area is the drawing of a horse, symbolizing 
a, dream-horse (probably the thunder-horse). The thunder, or power, is 
symbolized by red zigzag lines extending downward from the cloud-area. 
An eagle-feather and twelve hawk-feathers are tied to a small buckskin 
bag of medicine, fastened to the shield in a manner suggesting their attach- 
ment to the mane of the horse. The circumference of the shield is deco- 
rated with small feathers, and foiu' pairs of eagle-feathers are also arranged 
symmetrically around the circumference. 

A shield (Fig. S) similar to the preceding represents a vision in which 
the dreamer was apparently supported by the thunder-horse in a contest 
with the mythical turtle. A small bag of medicine and a pendant eagle- 
plume are attached to the shield, as in the previous case. Feathers are 



1907.] 



Wissler, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 



29 




Fig. 8 (.50-5456). Mo.k-l of a SliieM witli Picto-raphic Desisrn. Diameter, 47 cm. 



30 



Anthropological Papers American Museum of Xatiiral History. [Vol. I, 




again arranged in four pairs. This specimen was collected by Dr. J. I{. 
Walker. 

In the Museum collection from the Sauk and Fox Indians, made by 
Dr. William Jones, is a shield captured from the Sioux, at the time of the 
outbreak of 1866, by a Fox in the employ of the United States Govern- 
ment. The design was painted upon the rawhide, but is now almost oblit- 
erated. Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic restoration. The writer saw an old 
buffalo-hide shield in the possession of an Assiniboine, at Fort Belknap, 
Montana. The design was painted upon buffalo-hide, and was similar to 
that in Fig. 9. He collected also from the Dakota a number of drawings 

representing military exploits. While twenty 
shields are represented in these drawings » 
fourteen of them bear simple circular de- 
signs, as shown in the adjoining figure. 
This suggests that the older type of shield- 
decoration made use of simple circular 
designs. This idea was supported by the 
testimony of a number of old men who 
ought to be competent to speak upon the 
subject. Of course, there is no reason why 
the image of the thunder-bird, so common 
upon modern shield-designs, should not have 
been used in ancient times; and the Avriter 
wishes to be understood as expressing this as an opinion based upon indirect 
evidence. 

These circular designs often represented the sun, other heavenly bodies^ 
or the sky, which suggests that formerly the shield as a whole may have 
been considered as a symbol of the sun. Tlie survivors of shield-using 
days seemed to have no actual knowledge of any connection between the 
shield-form and the sun, but usually expressed it as their opinion that it 
represented the sun, and that the feathers represented the sun's rays. This 
may have been suggested by the fact that eagle-feathers were sometimes 
arranged in a half-circle to represent the rays of the sun, and that, further- 
more, the rays of the sun were sometimes spoken of as feathers. 

Shield-designs could originate only in dreams and visions, and were 
painted by the person experiencing them, Avho prayed and sang over his 
work to give the shield power. Usually but four shields could be made 
from a single dream: to make a great number was sacrilege. Among-^ 
the Blackfoot, the shield w^as often accompanied by a ritual composed of 
songs and prayers; and they possessed a few shields Avith such important 
rituals that they were distinguished from the others as "medicine-shields." 



Fig. 9 (50-3569). Design on Sioux 
Shield captured by a Fox Indian. 
Diameter, 42 cm. 



1907.] Wissler, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 31 

There seems to have been a simihir condition among the Dakota, for it 
was often said that medicine-shickls were hung outside the tepees, upon 
tripods, and that during the day they were changed from time to time so 
as to keep tliem facing the sun. Tliis practice was observed by a number 
of Plains tribes. However, among the Dakota the tripod often gave place 
to a single pole. 



GHOST-DANCE DESIGNS. 

About the year 1S9() a religious movement, generally known as the 
"ghost-dance religion," infected the Plains Indians. The chief feature of 
this religion was the belief in a speedy return of the old time, the buffalo, 
and the extermination of the white race. The different tribes had various 
ideas of their duties with respect to this new faith, and, with the exception 
of the Dakota, they did not manifest direct hostility to the white race. 
This warlike people, however, were already greatly dissatisfied with the 
treatment they received from the Government and with the difficult condi- 
tions under which they lived. In consequence, they received the ghost- 
dance religion as a herald of the good time which, to their minds, was to 
be secured only by war with the white race. While a great many of the 
conditions in the immediate environment of the Dakota have been given 
by various writers as causes for the outbreak, the fact that these Indians 
interpreted the new religion as the manifestation of a warlike spirit was 
])robably due to the fact that they were at heart a warlike people. Their 
ideas still run toward military things. As the essential idea of the ghost- 
dance religion was a return of the old time, the ceremonies pertaining 
thereto made use of the typical objects and ideas of the past. In tliis, of 
<'ourse, they were not entirely consistent, since they did not discard the use 
of fire-arms, and did not actually resurrect bows, arrows, and shields. Yet, 
as a substitute for the protective power of the shield, they introduced gar- 
ments bearing protective designs. These garments are generally known 
under the name of "ghost-shirts," and at the time of the outbreak were 
spoken of by white people as "bullet-proof shirts." The following are 
descriptions of these garments by eye-witnesses at the time of their first 
appearance : — 

"All the men and women made holy shirts and dresses they wear in dance. 
The persons dropped in dance would all lie in great dust the dancing make. They 
paint the white muslins they made holy dresses and shirts out of with blue across 
the back, and alongside of this is a line of yellow paint. They also paint in the front 
part of the shirts and dresses. A picture of an eagle is made on the back of all the 



32 



AntJiwpnlogirnl Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. 1^ 



shirts and dresses. On the shoulders and on the sleeves they tied eagle-feathers. 
They said that the bullets will not go through these shirts and dresses, so they all 
have these dresses for war. Their enemies' weapon will not go through these dresses. 
The ghost-dancers all have to wear eagle- feather on head." ' 

"I think they wore the ghost-shirt or ghost-dress for the first time that day. 
I noticed that the.se were all new. and were worn by about seventy men and forty 




¥'ig. 10 (50-3053). Front of a Ghost-dance Garment. Length, 126 cm. 

women. The wife of a man called Return-from-scout had seen in a vi.sion that her 
friends all wore a similar robe, and on re\iving from her trance she called the women 
together, and they made a great number of the sacred garments. They were of 
white cotton cloth. The women's dress was cut like their ordinary dress, a loose 
robe with wide, flowing sleeves, painted blue in the neck, in the shape of a three- 
cornered handkerchief, with moon, stars, birds, etc., interspersed with real feathers, 
painted on the waist and sleeves. 



1 George Sword, on Ghost-dance Religion (Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of 
American Ethnology, p. 798). 



1907.] 



Wissler, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 



S3 



"The ghost-shirt for the men was made of the same material — shirts and 
leggings painted in red. Some of the leggings were painted in stripes ninning up 
and down, others running around. The shirt was painted blue around the neck, 
and the whole garment was fantastically sprinkled with figures of birds, bows and 
arrows, sun, moon, and stars, and everj'thing they saw in nature. Down the out- 
side of the sleeve were rows of feathers tied by the quill-ends and left to fly in the 




Fin. 11 (50-3053). Back of Garment .shown in Fig. 10. 

breeze, and also a row around the neck and up and down outside of the leggings. 
I noticed that a mimber had stutTcd birds, squirrel-heads, etc., tied in their long 
hair. The faces of all were painted red with a black half-moon on the forehead or 
on one cheek.'' ' 

A.S i.s noted by the above, designs on these garments were made by 
individuals who iiad dreams or other unusual experiences similar to those 



I Mrs. Z. A. Parker (Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology,. 
p. 916). 



\ 

34 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [\'ol. I, 

of the medicine-men ; and it would seem from this account that the designs 
and objects used in the dance were in every way similar to those employed 
before the ghost-dance religion appeared. The writer made the acquaint- 
ance of several individuals who had prepared such garments at the time of 
the ghost-dance, and from them he secured reproductions with explanations 
as to the significance of the designs. As some time had elapsed since the 
ghost-dance religion was at the height of its popularity, it is possible that 
the more special features belonging to it were forgotten by these men, and 
that they worked into the reproduced garments older and more conserva- 
tive ideas. However, the writer is of the opinion, and he took special 
pains to investigate as best he could, that whatever may have been lost in 
this way made no important changes in either the objective character of 
the designs or in the ideas expressed by them. As a matter of fact, the 
ghost-dance in some of its milder forms is still observed. 

Some garments secured by the writer are decorated on both front and 
back with designs chiefly pictographic. On the front of one (Fig. 10) is 
a large triangular space extending downward from the shoulders (one half 
of which is in red and the other half in blue), thickly dotted over with white 
spots representing hailstones. The red represents the morning; and the 
blue, the night. Extending across from side to side is a large arched figure 
made up of red, yellow, white, and green bands, representing the rainbow. 
Above this are two four-pointed stars, the red for the morning star and the 
black for the stars seen in the night. There is a large green star with eight 
points on the dividing-line between day and night, concerning which I 
secured no satisfactory explanation. At the apex of the triangular space 
are small dots of yellow, representing the dawn; and the sun is placed on 
each side of the division between day and night. The new moon is repre- 
sented by a black crescent. On the morning-side of this design is the pic- 
ture of a butterfly; while on the night-side, extending over into the morning, 
is a picture of a peculiar figure, which the artist regarded as a spirit-bird 
or man-bird, as he expressed it, with the medicine-hoop in his hand. The 
other portion of the dress is covered over with small dots in various colors, 
representing bullets. There are also pictures of butterflies, stars, and 
buffalo-tracks. On one side are two parallel wavy red lines, and on the 
other two in green, representing the lightning. 

On the other side of this garment, or the back (Fig. 11), is the repre- 
sentation of a bird, which seems to be mythical rather than realistic. The 
background upon which the figure rests is dotted to represent bullets or hail, 
as both have the same significance. The lower part of the garment is the 
most interesting. Here we have four buffalo-tracks arranged in rectangular 
relation to represent buffalo, and a circle or medicine-hoop (half of which 



1907.] Wissler, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 35 

is red and half green) with extending hnes of the same colors, representing 
the thunder, or its power. The idea of this association of the hoop, or, as 
it is sometimes spoken of, the mirror, is that this buffalo escapes bullets, 
or perhaps is immortal. Below the sign of the buffalo is a four-pointed 
figure, usually known as the spider-web design, representing the heavens; 
and below this is the rainbow. Two swallows are represented connected 
to the points in the spider-web design by lines, indicating that they enjoy 
the protection of this power, making them difficult to hit with bullets or 
other missiles. 

On another garment (Fig. 12), the triangular area at the top is entirely 
in red, covered with white spots representing hail, and bordered with wavy 
lines representing the rainbow. This represents the rainbow in the sky. 
The dark crescent represents the moon. Below is a large four-pointed 
star in black, representing the night, with a line extending over each side, 
representing the clouds. The small disk in red represents a bullet; and 
the small green crescent, the moon. Below these is the spider-web design, 
representing the heavens, over the four corners of w^hich the lightning 
aj)pears; but in this case the design is covered with dots representing the 
falling of the stars. Near this design we find the butterfly and the buffalo- 
tracks. The remaining space on the whole garment is covered with patches 
of color, representing the hail. On the opposite side (Fig. 13) are pecul- 
iar triaTigular designs, the background of which is in red bordered by 
straight lines, suggesting the rainbow; while on the red background are 
placed the design of the moon and two circles in such relation as to suggest 
a face. This design was spoken of as the "moon-face;" but this seems to 
have been an after-interpretation, since the artist wished to represent the 
medicine-hoop or mirror in the sky. [It seems likely that this is simply 
an adaptation of a head-dress used in the elk ceremony.] Below this we 
have a combination which appears to be the spider-web design combined 
with the figure of a bird, which is said to be the dream-figure, rejiresenting 
the l)ird seen on a tree. Below this we have the moon, rainbow, tracks 
of the buffalo, stars, butterfly, and a mounted warrior riding through the 
hail. 

In Fig. 14, the triangular space at the top is similar to that on the pre- 
ceding garment, and need not be described here. The body of the dress 
is covered with dragon-flies as they appear when flying over water. The 
stars represent reflections in the water; and the dashes of color, the hail. 
The wavy green lines extending down the full length of the garment repre- 
sent the lightning. In this case the red at the top is spoken of as the thun- 
der-cloud. On the opposite side (Fig. 15), the triangular area with its 
tail-like extension represents the rattlesnake. In addition we have tracks of 



.^■ 



36 



AntJiropological Papers American Museum uj Xalural History. [Vol. I, 



the buffalo dragon-fly, and butterfly, all associated as in nature. X'pon the 
sides of this garment are the designs of the lizard, swallow, and turtle. 

The above detailed statements concerning the designs and their import 
do not convey their full significance as it was brought out in discussions 
between the writer and the men who made these garments. In the first 



^. 



<■ 



<^. 



> 







Fig. 12 (50-3054). Design.? on the Front of Ghost-dance Garment. Length, 128 cm. 

place we find on them symbols to be described in another section of this 
paper; namely, the spider-web designs and the medicine-hoop. It will be 
seen that in most cases the living creatures represented are those that seem 
to have power to escape the hailstones, because, as they say, no matter how 
severe the hailstorm may be, no one observes their dead or maimed upon 
the ground: therefore they assume that these creatures possess some 



.'\_ 



IHilllMMmWMIMl 



1907.] 



Wisslcr, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 



37 



extraordiimiv power, or receive the attention of some protective power. 
The bird rej^reseiited floes not seem to be the thun(ler-l)ird, as is usually 
the case in Dakota art, but such species, usually birds of prey, as soar 
above the destructive range of the hail. The lizard and the turtle are 
spoken of as animals of great power, since they are killed with great dif- 
ficulty, from which it follows that tliey also enjoy the protection of some 







FiK. 13 (.50-3054). Dcsij,'iis on tlic llack of Gannciit sliown in Fiu. 12. 

power. This we may generalize by saying that the Indian placed upon 
these garments representations of living creatures that, according to his 
observation and experience, were seldom hit by missiles, or that possessed 
great vitality, making it difficult to kill them. Placed on the garments, 
they express a prayer, a hope, or an actual realization, on the part of the 
wearer, of the protective power by which these creatures are enabled to 
survive. 



.^ 



38 



Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [\o\. I, 



% 



,v 



The triangular designs at the top of these garments were spoken of as 
shields, the idea being that they were in some measure shield-designs, and 
performed the same function as did those upon shields in former times. 
Mr. Mooney expresses the opinion that the protective designs on garments 
used in the ghost-dance religion were not aboriginal with the Indian. 



:^ 



V 










Fig. 14 (50-3055). Front of a Ghost-dance Garment bearing Dragon-fly Design. 
Length, 125 cm. 

"The protective idea in connection with the ghost-shirt does not seem to be 
aboriginal. The Indian warrior habitually went into battle naked above the waist. 
His protecting 'medicine' was a feather, a tiny bag of some sacred powder, the 
claw of an animal, the head of a bird, or some other small object which could be 
readily twisted into his hair or hidden between the covers of his shield, without 
attracting attention. Its virtue depended entirely on the ceremony of the conse- 
cration, and not on size or texture. The war-paint had the same magic power of 
protection. To cover the body in battle was not in accordance with Indian usage, 



1907.] 



Wissler, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 



39 



which demanded thiit the warrior should be as free and unincumbered in movement 
as fxjssible. The .so-called 'war-shirt' was worn chiefly in ceremonial dress-parades, 
and only rarely on the war-path." ' 

This statement, however, suggests that Mr. Mooney based his opinion 
upon objective evidence, while the opinion expressed by the writer is based 




Fif,'. 15 (50-3055). Back of Garment shown in Fig. 14. 

upon subjective evidence. A comparison of the interpretations of shield- 
designs and ghost-(h-css designs seems to leave little opportunity for any 
other conclusion than that the protective designs used in the ghost-dance 
were essentially the same as those used in former times upon shields and 
other objects. The garments may be foreign; but the idea of protective 



» Mooney (Fourteenth Annual Report ot the Bureau of American Ethnology, p. 790). 



^^ 



40 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Xatural History. [Vol. I, 

designs is most certainly not peculiar to the ghost-dance religion, since it 
was widely distributed among American tribes, and associated with cere- 
monial objects that were in use at least a century before the ghost-dance 
religion appeared. 

c If the writer had no other information at hand than that furnished bv 

^ Mr. Mooney in his comprehensive study of the ghost-dance religion, he 

c ' would be inclined to regard the whole as the manifestation of aboriginal 

!^ religious ideas in response to a single foreign conception; namely, that of 

t^ the coming of a messiah and the destruction of the present order of the 

^ world. The way in which the ghost-dance ceremonies were performed, 

the ideas expressed in the songs, the things the priests dreamed of, and 

the objects used in the ceremonies, are so characteristically Indian, that 

no other interpretation seems possible. However, in the present connec- 

'V tion we are concerned with these designs as types of the universal primitive 

expression of belief in the presence of a guiding personal agency that looks 

J? into the affairs of men. 



\! THE HOOP. 

^ The circle, or more properly the hoop, is a very important religious 

symbol among the Dakota. One form of it appears in the great hoop- 
game described by Louis INIeeker,^ and later by Dr. J. R. Walker.- l^his 
hoop is usually about two feet in diameter, and notched so as to divide 
the circumference into quadrants. While this hoop-game seems to be a 
true gambling game, it could be and was sometimes played as part of a 
ritualistic ceremony the object of which was to bring the buffalo. It is 
interesting to note that this large hoop is similar to the sacred wheel used 
by the Arapaho in the sun-dance. At the time of the ghost-dance out- 
break among the Dakota of Pine Ridge Reservation, jNIr. Mooney saw 
the hoop and the two pairs of sticks used with it carried in the ceremonies 
connected with the ghost-dance religion. He states : — 

"It is said that the medicine-man of Big Foot's band carried such a hoop 
with him in their flight from the north, and displayed it in eveiy dance held by 
the band until the fatal day of Wounded Knee. A similar hoop was carried and 
hung upon the centre tree at the dance at No Water's camp near Pine Ridge. To 
the Indian it symbolizes the revival of the old-time games." ^ 

The last line of the above quotation implies that the hoop was a part 
of the paraphernalia used in the ghost-dance ceremonies, because it sym- 



1 Meeker (Bulletin of the Free Museum of Science and .\rt, University of Pennsylvania 
Vol. Ill, No. 1). 
,,* 2 Walker (The Journal of the American Folk- Lore Society, October-December, 1905). 

< ^ 3 Mooney (Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnologv, p. 1075). 



■>■ ^ 



19U7.] Wissler, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 41 

bolized the ancient games. On another page of the same article occurs 
the following: — 

"As it was the favorite game with the men in the olden times, a great many 
of the songs founded on these trance visions refer to it. and the wheel and sticks 
are made by the dreamer, and carried in the dance as they sing." ' 

It should l)e remembered, however, that the game was formerly })layed 
to restore the IniHalo when they were temporarily absent from their range; 
and, as one of the great objects of the ghost-dance religion was the return 
of the biiflalo as in the olden times, the reason for the use of the hoop in 
the ceremonies described by Mooney is apparent. In Mooney's account, 
a number of .songs pertaining to the hoop-game are given as sung by the 
various tribes practising the ghost-dance religion. Among these is a Dakota 
version, as follows: — ■ 

"The holy (hoop) shall niii, "Come and see it. 

The iioly (hoop) shall nm. Come and see it, 

The swift hoop shall run. Says the father, 

The .swift hoop shall run. Says the father." - 

A iii\lln<;il ;icc((uiil of tiic ho()|)-game is given by I )i'. .1. R. Walker, which 
indicates one of the pioliablc conceptions upon wliicii this religious u.se 
of the hoop rests.^ 

Tiic hoop-.symbol occurs in grapiiic roiin, sometimes upon garments. 
'The writer sccnictl a shirt that was used by one of the leaders in ghost- 
dances, and which seems to have been a type of the 
O. so-called "bullet-proof shirt." TK\s garment is 
daubed with red about the neck and on the shoul- 
ders, but in addition bears four circular designs, also 
Kit' 16(50-2964). Circii- ^'^ ^'^'^^< ^^'''i hirge dots at their centres (Fig. 16). 
Di"amet*er! Uvnu '""'"'■ ^"G of thcsc dcsigus is placed upou the right breast; 
another, directly opposite, upon the back of the gar- 
ment; one u])on the right shoulder; and one upon the left. These are so 
arranged, that, no matter from what point you see the wearer, one of the 
circular designs will be visible. These designs were recognized as symbols of 
the medicine-hoop, and were supposed to have the pow'er to protect the wearer 
from all harm. The idea of placing the designs so that one of them should 
always be between the wearer and the source of danger may be original 
with the owmer of this shirt; but the number of them (four), and their 
arrangement according to the four directions, correspond to the common 
explanation of religious symbols. 



' .Mooiiey (l-'oiirtceiuh .\nnual Hepori of the Bureau of American Etliiiology, p. 994). 

2 Moonpy (Fourteenth .\niuial Keport of the Bureau of American Ethnology, p. 1075). 

3 Walker (The Journal of the American Folk-Lore Society, October-December, 1905). 



42 



Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. I, 



Meeker describes ^ a wheel-shaped hoop-ornament consisting of a ring 
enclosing four spokes at right angles to each other. According to his ac- 
count, this is a symbol associated with the hoop-game ; but similar speci- 
mens were seen by the writer upon the heads of Dakota men, who 
explained that these were symbols of the medicine-wheel or medicine- 
hoop, and did not refer to the hoop-gaijie. They were worn because they 
were regarded as symbols of the power that could protect the wearer from 
arrows, bullets, or other dangers. 

As is suggested by the above, the game-hoop is distinguished from the 
medicine-hoop as used in ceremonies. A medicine-hoop seems to have 
been used by all divisions of the Dakota, and, according to the descriptions 

received by the writer, to have been of 
several forms. In certain ceremonies 
where the elk played an important part, 
a hoop or ring was formed by twining 
together fresh twigs and leaves of the 
willow. In the centre of this hoop, a 
small mirror was held by four cords ar- 
ranged at right angles, and representing 
the four directions. A drawing of an elk- 
dancer by a native is shown in Fig. 17. 
The painted centre for the circular de- 
signs on a shirt (Fig. 16) described above, 
as well as the small wheel-shaped head- 
ornament, were said to represent a hoop 
of this type. 

The connection of this hoop with the 
idea of protection is well illustrated in 
the manufacture of one kind of red paint. 
It is produced by burning a kind of yel- 
low clay, found near the Black Hills, 
until it takes on the red color. The 
paint, however, is given its protective 
power by certain ceremonies performed 
as it is made. In the particular cere- 
mony observed by the writer, the yellow 
earth was pounded fine, and mixed with 
water until it became a stiff paste. This 
was then made into a flat disk about half an inch thick and from four to 
six inches in diameter, after which a hole or depression was made in the 




Fig. 17. Sketch, by a Native, of an Elk- 
mystery Dancer carrying a Hoop witli 
a Mirror in the Centre. Drawing col- 
lected by R. Cronau. 



1 Meeker, op. cit., p. 35. 



^H 



1907.] Wissler, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 43" 

centre. The purpose of this, as explained, was to give it the form of a 
medicine-hoop, the hole in the centre corresponding to the place occupied 
by the mirror in the form of hoop just described. This disk was then 
burned in the fire until red, after Avhich it was pounded on a stone until 
fine enough for use. The ceremony in preparing the paint consisted of 
ritualistic songs and prayers, which reached their climax as the disk of clay 
was formed and perforated. The burning and the subsequent preparation 
were not regarded as parts of the ceremony. The idea, as expressed, was 
to connect the paint with the power represented by the hoop, so that when 
a warrior rubbed some of it upon his body, he came at once under the 
protection of this power. 

Another idea seems to be connected with the conception of the medicine- 
hoop, and that is the appearance of certain mythical animals with openings 
through their bodies where their hearts should be. The conception seems 
to be, that an animal without a heart is immortal and supernatural: at 
least, tliis is the way in which the mythical elk was described. According 
to the belief, there is a connection between this opening through the heart 
and the centre of the medicine-hoop, represented in the elk ceremonies by 
the mirror; but it is the opinion of the Avriter that this is an error on the 
part of the Indians themselves in associating two things that were formerly 
distinct.^ 

It seems rather curious that the mirror should become so closely asso- 
ciated with the hoop, and that the mirror should have appealed to them 
as a symbol of almost equal importance. The writer is of the opinion that 
the preceding cases, where the mirror and the hoop are considered as iden- 
tical symbols, are the result of a former close association of the two in cere- 
wjmonial affairs. 

J 

THE WHIRLWIND. 

In another place the writer has described the conception of the power 
of the whirlwind among some of the Dakota, but wishes at this time to 
refer to it again because of its relation to their system of protective designs." 
As stated in the former publication, there seems to be in the minds of some 
of the Dakota an association between the phenomenon of the whirlwdnd 

1 In the Report of the Peahody Museum (Vol. Ill, p. 286) is a description by Miss Fletcher 
of some ceremonies in which the hoop and the mirror played a part. " The neophyte held one. 
having a circular mirror, fastened by four cords, from which he cast a reflection of the sun from 
time to time upon the grrotuid. or held up the hoop, and flashed the mirror." The explanation 

/ given by this author of the significance of the mirror in these ceremonies differs from that 
1/ secured by the writer; but Miss Fletcher's account seems to refer to a form of ceremony per- 
taining to the elk rites not mentioned in his notes. 

2 Wissler (The Journal of the American Folk-Lore Society, October-December, 1905). 



44 



Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [\'o\. I, 



and those mental states generally known as "confusion of mind." Some 
of them believed and still believe that the power in the whirlwind can be 
invoked to confuse the mind of an enemy. In common with many other 
American tribes, the Dakota believe the whirlwind to be associated with 
the fluttering wings of a moth, but they also associate this with the cocoon 




Fig. IS (50-2095). Engraved Metal Gross. CoUefted by R. Cronau. 
Length. 23 cm. 



of the same moth; and in symbolic representation the design representing 
the power of the whirlwind is of an elongated diamond-shape, and refers 
to the cocoon. The protection or aid of the whirlwind was secured by 
prayers, and these prayers were symbolized by the cocoon worn upon the 



■MMymiwi ouot^M 



]'M)7.] 



WissUr, Some Protective Disujna oj the Dakota. 



45 



|)fi-son, bv its image in stuffed buckskin, or by its graphic representation, 
sketched or painted. The power of the whirlwind was supposed to have 
been associated with the power of the spider-web. As an illustration of 




Fig. 19 (50-2898). Engraved Bone Object. Collected by H. Cronau. 
Length, 24 cm. 



this, we find engraved upon a German-silver cross (Fig. 18) the spider, 
and near it three representations of the whirlwind cocoon. Between the 
spider and these three designs is a zigzag line, implying the mystic power 
connection of the same. Again, on a forked bone object (Fig. 19), the use 



46 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Xalural History. [\'ol. I. 

of which is unknown, occur a number of incised designs, among whicli is 
again what seems to be the spider-web, the tracks of a quadruped (probably 
the buflalo), and four designs representing the whirlwind cocoon, accom- 
panied in each case by another design which cannot be determined, l)ut 
which resembles the footprints of a person. It is interesting to note that 



I 





Fig 20. Fig. 21. 

Fig, 20 (50-4380). Wliirhvind Design, from tlie Handle of a Club. Lengtli, 5 cm. 
Fig. 21 (50-4244). Whirlwind Design, from a Popgun. Length of design, 7.5 cm. 

the German-silver cross also bears the tracks of the l)uffalo, or some rumi- 
nant animal, in association with the spider. In the absence of direct in- 
formation, the writer hesitates to offer any interpretation of the design upon 
these specimens, although he feels that they could be interpreted with 
reasonable certainty. 

The design of the whirlwind resembles a feather-design, and no doubt 
the two are often confused. The difference seems to be, that, when repre- 
senting the whirlwind, half of the design is filled with parallel or crossing 
lines; while, when representing feathers, half of the design is filled in with 
color (see Fig. 19). The feather-design is more fixed in form than that of 
the whirlwind. Fig. 20 is a representation of the latter, from the handle of a 
club, where it appears in a series with the spider, lizard, elk, and turtle. 
Another form of the same design is repeated in a series on a wooden pop- 
gun (Fig. 21). 

THE THUNDER. 

The thunder is a very important deity among all the Indians of the 
Plains, and is usually associated with mihtary exploits. While the Dakota 
generally regard the thunder as a bird, usually symbolized by the eagle, 
yet they sometimes speak of it as a horse, a man, or a dog. The horse 
always appealed to them as a creature of mysterious origin, and in many 
cases was assumed to have been given by the thunder. In any event there 
is an association in their minds between the power of a war-horse and the 
thunder. The thunder is often represented by a zigzag or wavy line, usually 
in red; but this symbol really represents the power of the phenomenon in 
the abstract, because the Indian does have the conception of a force in 



iniiiHiiiiiianH^H^BBgHBBg 



I'JOT] 



Wissler, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 



47 



luitun-. Consequently this graplik- symbol is also a general sign for the 
presence of mysterious supernatural power. The whistles made from the 
leg and wing hones of eagles, and used among the Plains tribes, are gener- 
alFy employed by the Dakota to symbolize the cry of the eagle as a repre- 
sentative of the thunfier-bird. In battle, or sometimes in stress of great 
trial, they an' sounded to call up the 
power of the thunder to rescue the 
unfortunate one. As a rule, a zig- 
zag line is .scratched down the sides 
of these whistles. In this coimec- 
tion it is interesting to ni>t<' the 
following: 

■' lieforo (luyliKht I set off with five 
IiKiiiins. . . This rausod :i halt, as we 
were siirroumU'il and liegaii to suspect 
that tlie enemy liail plannetl to cut u.s 
off. The Indians put on tlioir war- 
caps, utterinR some few words which I 
could not hear distinctly, and then be- 
Ran to whistle with a small hone instru- 
ment which they huiiR around their 
ne<ks for that |)Mr|>o.se." ' 

This account (1S07) by an acute 
oirserver is interesting, because our 
present knowledge enables us to 
understand the nuittered prayers 
and the use of the whistle. 

The whistle shown in Fig. 22 is 
interesting because of the objects 
that accompany it. The whistle is 
from the wing-bone of an eagle, and 
near the top is a small bag contain- 
ing the medii'inc of the owner. 
The feathers of the yellow- winged 
woodpecker arc attached thereto, 
because this bird is considered as 
an a.ssociatc of the thunder-bird, 
or at least it holds some relation 
to the thunder, since the Dakota 
have observed, that, when a storm is approaching, this bird gives a peculiar 
shrill call not unlike the sound of the whistle spoken of above. This they 




Fiff. 22 (50-3023). Wliistle, of Bone. 
Length, 19 cm. 



' New Liglit on the Karly History of the Greater Nortliwest, p. 436. 



48 Anthropological Papers Americaji Museum of Xatural History. [\o\. T, 

interpret as speaking to the thunder. Consequently, the feathers of this bird, 
when attached to the whistle, are supposed to put the individual also in a 
position to speak to the thunder. This bird has a large dark spot on the 
throat, which is said to represent the moon and to be further evidence of 
the sacred character of the bird. Thus we have a combined charm repre- 
senting the woodpecker and the eagle, — two birds closely assoc-iated with 
the thunder. 

The ceremony of offering a filled pipe to the thunder was frequently 
observed by the Dakota. One man stated that once, when the camp was 
threatened by an approaching storm, he filled a large pipe, went to the top 
of a hill, and, facing the storm, made an offering to the thuntler by extending 
the stem upward, antl praying, with the result that the storm divided, and 
passed around the camp without serious damage to his people. In the 
decoration of pipe-stems, a bunch of horsehair is attached (usually colored 
red), and this is often spoken of as an emblem of the thunder-horse. This 
horsehair is to signify the presence of the [)ower of the thunder, as mani- 
fest in the horse, in all ceremonies connected with the i)ii)e. It is worth 
while noting that in this case we have an illustration of a ])eculiarity of 
religious lore, — the indirect symbolizing of a power by one of a series of 
objects in which that power is manifest. 

The United States emblem of the eagle with outstretched claws, holding 
arrows and the lightning, is regarded by the Dakota as an aj)peal on our 
part to the thunder-bird; and statements to the contrary arc usually inter- 
preted as white men's lies to deceive the Indians and to guard the power. 
There is little doubt that the Dakota manner of drawing the thunder-bird 
has been modified by the United States emblem, and that their own idea 
of his power has been influenced accordingly. 

THE SPIDER. 

The association between the spider, the spider web, and the thunder, 
is very close — so close, that it is difficult to understand the conception of 
the power of the spider without considering the power of the thunder. The 
spider is often spoken of as the "spider-man." It is also associated with 
the mythical elk. It was supposed to have great power. The observed 
fact that a spider manufactures a web, and that this web is not destroyed 
by bullets or arrows (since they pass through it, leaving only a hole), is 
cited by some individuals as the basis for the conception that the spider 
has power to protect people from harm. On the other hand, the spider is 
spoken of as a friend of the thunder; and it is a general beUef that the 
thunder will never harm the spider-web, or, what amounts to the same. 



HtOT.] 



Wisslcr, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 



49 



that the spider-web itself is a protection against thunder. As previously 
stated, the spider-web is represented by a peculiar four-cornered design. 
This design is sometimes said to represent the heavens, in which case the 
four points represent the four directions, the home of the winds, the four 
thunders, etc.; the supernatural character of the design being indicated by 
lightning-symbols extending from the four corners. 

In a preeeding ))aper,' the s|)ider-wcl) design was discussed in its rcla- 




Fig. 23 (50-309.5). Dfsigii of a Spider-web. 



tion to decorative art, where it w^as noted that among some divisions of the 
Dakota is a belief in a double woman,^ to whom, among other things, cer- 
tain ceremonial uses of this design are attributed. According to informa- 
tion secured by the w^riter, this character was also associated with the elk 
ceremonies, where she was often represented by two women tied together by 



» WLssler (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XVII, p. 248). 
2 Dorsey (Eleventli .\nnual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, p. 480). 



50 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [\'ol. I, 

a cord (about two feet in length), from the middle of which hung a doll or 
a ball. Women often receive power by dreaming of this character. Some 
such women are supposed to perform a kind of ceremony, somewhat secret, 
in which a child is taken out to a lonely place, where a swing or hammock- 
Hke structure is made in the form of the spider-web design, supported by 
the four corners, and the child is ]:»laced upon it. This is to bring good 
fortune to the child. A design of the spider-web might then be placed 
upon the robe of the child as a .symbol of its having experienced the cere- 
mony (Fig. 23). 

The men, however, use this design for military protection, in which 
connection it is not thought of as being associated in any way with the 
mythical double woman. It is, however, closely associated with the medi- 
cine-bow. This was a very sacred military object with the Dakota, of 
which only four duplicates could be had. It consisted of a bow of plain 
wood, of the usual length, to the end of which was attached a spear-head. 
Fastened to the bow was a stick somewhat longer, sharpened at one end, 
and decorated with feathers and other symbolic objects. The purpose of the 
stick was to support the bow, since all such sacred objects would lose their 
power if allowed to touch the ground. The bow was not used as a weapon, 
but was carried as a standard, because of its suppo.sed magical power over 
the enemy. The figure of the dragon-fly was usually painted upon the bow 
and its support, as well as dots representing insects that fly swiftly, and 
zigzag lines representing thunder. Feathers of the eagle, the magpie, 
the hawk, and, in fact, of all birds swift of wing, were likewise attached to 
it. The association between these insects and birds was the same as that 
previously noted; that is, since they were swift in motion, and difficult 
to strike, they represented the qualities desired by the bearers of the bow. 
These bows have long since passed out of existence, but survive in models 
made for commercial purposes. 

The account of the origin of the medicine-bow is as follows: — 

"A man dreamed of the thunder, and afterwards called in four men to assist 
him in making the medicine-bow. They went through the preHminaries (the 
sweat-house, etc.), after which a special tent was erected. The ground inside of 
this tent, where the dreamer and his four companions sat, was covered with sage- 
grass. A young man was called in to act as their assistant. He was sent out to 
cut elm sticks. He went out slowly, and after a time came back with the sticks. 
Then he was sent out to get together the feathers of swift flying birds, pieces of 
buffalo-hide, paints, etc. He went around the camp, and begged these of the people. 

"Then the four men set to work making the sticks under the direction of the 
dreamer. The dreamer gave a bow to one of the men, and a piece of bufTalo-hide 
in which to wrap the sticks, also a wooden bowl from which to eat. 

"After a time, the faces of the men were painted red. WTien the sticks were 



mssBsam 



1007.] 



Wissler, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 



51 



finished, four men came in wrapped in bufifalo-robes, each carrying a drum. Now 
the four men who had prepared the sticks were ready to receive the bow, and the 
drummers began to drum and sing. Then the man who dreamed about the bow 
carried it outside of the lodge, pointing it toward the west. He was followed by 
the whole company, and. after .singing a song, they took a step forward and pointed 
the bow to the north; another step again, then pointed to the east; and then a 
step forward, pointing to the south. Then they ran toward the west, then toward 
the east, then toward the north, and then toward the south. [The significance of 
this is, that the thunder resides in the four directions of the heavens, and also goes 
in all directions, so that the carrying of the sticks toward the various points of the 
compass puts them in touch with the thunder.] Then they went back to the sweat- 
house, and the ceremony was complete. 

" The man who owns one of these bows must not wear iron on his penson, he 
must never give his food to any one else after eating from it himself, and he must 
never allow the bow, or any part of it, to touch the ground.'' ' 

The owner of <a medicine-bow should have a buffalo-robe with special 
decorations, consisting of a spi tier- web design of the character previously 
described, from the corners of which ex- 
tend wavy lines representing the thunder. 
Sometimes the ])icture of a thunder-bird 
w^as drawn aljove the spider-web design, 
or a few tail-feathers of the eagle were 
attached to the robe. The spider-web 
design on the robe of an owner of a 
me(hcine-l)ow was to .symbolize the 
thunder, for, as .stated by the inform- 
ants, the spider is a friend of the medi- 
cine-bow. None of these robes are now 
in existence; but sketches were made for 
the writer, one of which is reproduced in 
Fig. 24. 

The body-painting for the medicine- 
bow was rather elaborate. In the first 
place, the wdiole body w^as smeared over 
with a brownish-red paint, representing 
the earth in a buffalo-wallow. There 
were two ways of decorating the face. 
In one, a curved line was drawn, extend- 
ing from the corners of the mouth around 
over the forehead, the ends of the lines being forked to represent lightning. 
Wavy lines, also with forked ends, were drawn down the arms and the legs. 
These lines were in black or blue. Blue bands were painted around the 
ankles, arms, wrists, and shoulders, representing the power of the lightning. 




Fig. 24. Sketcli of a Robe for the Medi- 
cine-bow Owner. Drawn by a Native. 



Narrated by an Ogalala man. 



52 



Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. I, 



These bands were often covered with wristlets and anklets of rabbit-fur, 
because the rabbit was in some way associated with the medicine-bow. In 
the other painting, a crescent, representing the moon, was placed upon the 
forehead and a line drawn from ear to ear across the bridge of the nose. 
In this form, the body-painting was the same as in the preceding, except 
that one of the lines upon the leg was straight instead of wavy, and it was 
said to signify the desire for ability to think straight or to possess presence 
of mind, in contrast to the state of mind supposed to be produced by the 
power of the whirlwind. 



S 





Fig. 25 



Fig. 26. 



Fig. 25 (50-2093). Design on a Metal Belt-ornament. Width, 2 cm. 

Fig. 26 (50-3124). Design of Spider-web on a Straight Pipe. Length, 25 cm. 

The spider-web design has been mentioned in connection with shield 
and other designs, and a retrospect indicates a peculiar graphic resem- 
blance in it to the older type of star-designs shown in Plate vi. The writer 
uses the term "older" on the authority of two Indians. Some incised 
designs on metal ornaments worn by a woman, of the form shown in 
Fig. 25, seem to be a combination of the older star-design and that of the 
spider-web. Another design (Fig. 26) scratched on the bowl of a straight 
pipe of red stone was also said to represent the spider-web. There is 
another design used by the Dakota in ceremonies relating to the buffalo; 
but it is rectangular in form with projecting corners, and is considered a 
distinct symbol. 

CONCLUSION. 

The first point that appears in the consideration of these designs and 
their interpretations is the animistic basis upon which they rest. The 
Indian has observed nature, and singled out those qualities and situations 
that are not only wonderful from his point of \iew, but greatly to be desired 
as means to his own ends. He then proceeds on the assumption that these 
originate in and are due to some hidden agency, from which it follows, 
that, if he can put himself in the place of one of the favored living creatures, 
he will in turn be the object upon which this hidden agency vn.\\ act. If 
he can be the bird that rides the storm in safety, he will in turn ride suc- 



iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyiiyyyiiiyiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllBI 



1907 ] Wissler, Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. 53 

cessfully the analogous storms of his own sphere, and, Hke the cliild that 
in its own mind is the pohceman when it thrusts a chib into its waistband, 
he feels that he is the bird calling to the thunder when he sounds the bone 
whistle, and mutters his song-prayer. That this is true only of the great 
Indian or the devotee, speaking in relative terms, and that the mass of 
Indian-kind follow in blind imitation of the more sensitive few, may be 
true; but the phenomena, for all that, are none the less ethnic. 

One characteristic of the foregoing protective designs is, that they are 
usually animal motives to the almost entire exclusion of plant and inani- 
mate forms. Wliile it is true that the phenomena of the heavens hold a 
prominent place in this art, such phenomena arc often interpreted as results 
of the activity of animal-like beings, and consequently are so expressed in 
art. The conditions leading to such a result are doubtless many and intri- 
cate; but the tendency to ignore plant-forms in protective conceptions may 
be due to the inactive character of the more inanimate world. Inert things 
are not easily conceived of as guardians or protectors. On the other hand, 
the Indian may not see the logical necessity of carrpng his view to the 
utmost bounfls of the universe. Pots and kettles may have an animistic 
l>resence within themselves; but perhaps this does not appeal to the Indian, 
because the living creatures are so much nearer to him and the analogy 
between their lives and his is not difficult to perceive. The mystery in the 
animal forms that come and go, in the storm, and in the heavenly bodies, 
reaches the mind unaided; but the plant and mineral wonders require a 
more microscopic eye. That there was a time when the animals were as 
the people is the striking thought in many Indian mj-ths, and this indicates 
a belief in the fundamental life-identity of all moving creatures. 

There is, however, one interesting suggestion in the interpretation of 
protective powers. In all of these conceptions we find less appeal for the 
direct destruction of enemies than for a shielding protection to enable the 
man himself to be the destructive agent. His prayers are, that he may be 
swift and impossible to hit in order that he may strike down the victim. 

Again, there are in every part of the preceding paper examples of the 
close association between powers, or at least power-symbols, that are from 
many j^oints of view incongruous; as the mirror and the hoop, the spider, 
the thunder, and the elk. There is^in these a tendency to coalesce into 
conceptions of larger wholes in which the power becomes more general, 
tending toward the definite abstraction of a power-unit, or identity of 
forces in nature. These larger conceptions, that are really much more 
complex than indicated in this brief paper, seem to represent a gro'ni;h, or 
at least an accumulation of ideas, on the part of a people who have not 
felt the need of systematically unifying them, or expressing them as an 
objective unit. 



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